tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post7569551060481332654..comments2023-10-23T12:57:43.485-07:00Comments on Planet Plots: Upgraded Falcon Heavy as an alternative to SLSken_anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-30942143702198424572016-04-23T20:12:29.809-07:002016-04-23T20:12:29.809-07:00Thanks!
Blending fuels has been around (mainly th...Thanks!<br /><br />Blending fuels has been around (mainly theoretically) for years, sort of - Aerozine (a blend of hydrazine and UDMH), used in the Titan II, is the only real world example I can think of. <br /><br />Adding some hydrogen to methane, propane, or even RP1, has been talked about in theory for quite a few years. It offers some interesting theoretical benefits. It's basically the same as subcooling (also called subchilling); reducing the temperature of propellant (such as LOX) so you can put more of it in a given tank volume, plus also allowing higher density into the engines. It was just theoretical talk, because you'd been specialized cryogenic gear plus some significantly modified engines to use it. So, subcooling remained purely theory - unless you're SpaceX, which is using it operationally since last December (that's what the Falcon9 1.2, or Full Thrust, uses). <br /><br />That's why I suspect that SpaceX might not be averse to looking at adding some hydrogen to their methane for Raptor. <br /><br />As for Raptor being on the back burner... the air force has already entered into contract with SpaceX to provide some funding specifically for Raptor, so I highly doubt it's on the back burner. <br /><br />I agree though regarding Musk having so many things to focus on, especially when we count things like Tesla and Solar City. <br /><br />And heh, your "prove I'm not a robot" app (which I like) decided to present me with a challenge; identify street signs. Some just happened to be in Chinese, which made it a tad tricky. :) C Jhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09526212511734492238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987241699123718287.post-88880227731612764632016-04-23T16:41:53.080-07:002016-04-23T16:41:53.080-07:00I had never heard of spiking the fuel like that......I had never heard of spiking the fuel like that... interesting.<br /><br />Some think Raptor is on the back burner, but I'm with you.I think we can expect some surprises soon. My concern is Elon seems to focus on too many things.<br /><br />Good post.ken_anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07612961297952294600noreply@blogger.com